I’ve noticed that you have mentioned games like Final Fantasy to be phenomenons with the disclaimer that Final Fantasy was a phenomenon only in Japan. Of course this is a reference to older generations of consoles, such as the Nintendo and the Super Nintendo, where the Final Fantasy series thrived in Japan, but was still under performing in the west.
Then Final Fantasy 7 was released and was a huge hit globally. It was never a “huge hit” in the scale which Nintendo has been able to achieve, but none the less, it is one of the best selling games. Then sequels were made of the game, while they were never as successful as Final Fantasy 7, they were still performing well. There were people who were repulsed by Final Fantasy 7 after playing it, which would end up never playing Final Fantasy 8, 9 and so on. Even after Final Fantasy 7, Japanese developed RPGs were becoming popular.
Many people believe that Final Fantasy 7 was successful because of Graphics. I think this is horseshit. At the time of buying Final Fantasy 7, people looked like they had magically jointed limbs, their clothing were plain, and their faces only had eyes, and more powerful machines have been made that could put out better graphics. One could say the music was the compelling point but the same composer has been working on the series, even before the series was popular. The same writer has been with the series, with the exception of Final Fantasy 12. Yet, I felt driven to continue playing Final Fantasy 7.
So I suppose the greater question is, why was Final Fantasy 7 able to make the series popular in the west?
You can blame Nintendo of America who continues the proud tradition of not localizing Japanese games to this very day.
Final Fantasy I sold very well in the United States. In fact, I think it sold better in America than it did in Japan. But when Final Fantasy I came out in America was when Final Fantasy III came out in Japan. Nintendo of America passed on localizing either Final Fantasy II and III because they felt it was too similar to Final Fantasy I to sell. (There was also the Japanese belief that American gamers were too ‘unsophisticated’ to know how to play ‘complicated’ Japanese RPGs and could only play simple platformers and fighting games. This betrays the fact that it was Americans who invented the RPG, popularized it, and it was Americans who introduced Japan to RPG gaming.)
When Final Fantasy IV came out on the Super Nintendo, people were wowed by the graphics and the improved sound. It was released in America only three months later. However, since American gamers are seen as ‘retarded’ and ‘unable to play sophisticated Japanese RPG games’, Final Fantasy IV had many items taken out as well as locations and abilities with the game difficulty being made much easier. The game was also heavily censored by Nintendo of America so talks of death or sex or the strippers were removed or altered.
Final Fantasy IV was also renamed to Final Fantasy II which started some confusion. The game was successful in America but not as successful as it was in Japan.
Squaresoft also believed American gamers were retarded so they made Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest to help ‘tutor’ American gamers on learning how to play this ‘sophisticated’ Japanese RPG. Mystic Quest bombed and the American Final Fantasy customers were furious at such a condescending game.
To add to the insult, Mystic Quest was released in Japan as “Final Fantasy USA”.
Final Fantasy V came out in 1992 in Japan. It almost made its way to America as ‘Final Fantasy III’ but for some reason this didn’t occur. It could have been disagreements with Nintendo of America over the cartridge size or it could have been that ‘Final Fantasy V is too complex for retarded Americans.’ In 1995, Squaresoft announced the release of FFV in America and Eidos announced the release of FFV in America in 1997. It never came until the Anthology Pack.
Final Fantasy VI was released in 1994 in Japan and released as Final Fantasy III in America. It sold well in America but never became ‘mainstream’. Part of the reason could be attributed that the SNES lifecycle was aging. And there was this…
Horrible marketing. Such a commercial doesn’t at all represent the value of a game like Final Fantasy VI. But this was common during the ’16-bit’ War where marketing was loud, annoying, and all aimed at teenagers.
You dismiss graphics as a reason why VII sold so well, but I disagree. RPGs traditionally were not seen as graphic powerhouses. For Final Fantasy VII, Squaresoft spent $45 million to develop the game which was, and still is, a massive amount of money for a video game. It was a Hollywood sized budget. Final Fantasy VII wowed because RPGs traditionally did not focus on graphics. And it was time for sustaining innovations and people were all hungry for better graphics and transitioning to longer type of games (such as RPGs).
Final Fantasy VII, unlike the previous games, was the first Final Fantasy to use Western developers. This likely made the game feel less ‘Japanese’ centric and made the game more acceptable to Western tastes.
One issue with earlier RPGs is that there was much ‘abstraction’ involved which likely also limited the audience. The artist for previous Final Fantasy games was not used. A new artist was used for Final Fantasy VII. Instead of having characters that were two heads tall, they were ‘less abstract’ and looked more like real people.
The removal of abstraction is a reason why I think the first 3d game in a series gets a sales bump. A 3d world in Zelda is far less abstract than the 2d world in Zelda. It is an experience being able to look up at the Hyrule sky. So removing abstraction seems to help boost sales in games.
Sony planned to modify Final Fantasy VII to be ‘censored’ because, as we know, American gamers are retarded and need nerfed versions of a game’s content, but strong user feedback (I remember the petitions) convinced Sony to release Final Fantasy VII uncut. After Final Fantasy gamers in America being treated like idiots, retards, or fragile to being shielded from vulgar words, the move was much appreciated and likely boosted sales.
The US release of Final Fantasy VII also had additional content that was not in the Japanese version. Certainly, that might have made an impression.
Back then, Sony was run by competent people. They threw the entire weight of Sony behind the marketing campaign for Final Fantasy 7. The marketing budget (not development budget, the MARKETING budget) for Final Fantasy VII in the US was $100 million. Major print campaigns were made in the Rolling Stone, Spin, Playboy, and the gaming magazines. Sony teamed up with Pepsi for a holiday promotion featuring the game. A demo disc of Final Fantasy VII was included in brand new PlayStation systems as well. Before Final Fantasy VII was released, there were already hundreds of thousands who had pre-ordered the game.
Above: the commercials actually do a good job of representing the game (unlike the horrible FF3 commercials). And they are also somewhat witty.
So, in conclusion, the answer why Final Fantasy VII was so successful while previous FF games were not was because…
1) HUGE development budget. $45 million is a ton of money for a game even today.
2) MASSIVE marketing budget. $100 million is insane. FF7’s marketing budget was the same as GTA 4’s development budget. Sony also was a very shrewd company back then. And they really wanted to twist the knife at Nintendo.
3) Not treating your customers like retards. People wonder why I get angry when game companies or Industry people talk about ‘casual gamers’ as if they were idiots and morons. Fools! Do you not remember? The Japanese Game Industry treated American gamers as idiots and morons which is why so many Japanese games were never localized in America or were neutered in content or difficulty. This is also why I get angry when Nintendo thinks their precious 3d Mario doesn’t sell like 2d Mario because 2d Mario gamers are ‘retarded’ and ‘can’t handle’ the ‘sophistication’ of 3d Mario. It is arrogance and condescension which dodges the real reason why disinterest exists.
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